This article presents the results of a study in which five women in a detention facility were interviewed and asked about their prior educational histories and their experiences of GED education in jail. Three central themes emerged from the interviews. The women in the study had positive academic experiences in their early school years which were…

This is a study on 422 female prisoners in peninsular Malaysia. More than half of the female prisoners are foreigners, mainly from Indonesia and Thailand. This study surveys the background of the respondents and identifies factors that may have influenced them to commit the offences. Female prisoners in Malaysia, particularly those who are…

The purpose of the study was to describe the needs of newly released Canadian federal offenders as perceived by community parole supervisors. Seventy-four Canadian parole supervisors were asked to answer the following question: "What challenges do parolees face in the first 90 days after release?" The data were analyzed using…

This article first reports the main results and conclusions from a study on 24 pedophile sex abusers in treatment in a Canadian specialized institution. The aims of this study were to better understand what motivates abusers to enter treatment as well as how they experience the treatment on a daily basis and consider it to be helpful. In…

Background: Rehabilitation programs for criminal offenders target primary outcomes such as effects on criminogenic needs and secondary outcomes of reducing recidivism. Most evaluation studies focus only on one type of outcome. This study evaluated outcomes on both primary and secondary targets of the Reasoning and Rehabilitation (R&R) program…

High-risk drug use is prevalent among UK prison populations (Lipton, 1995) while recovery in prison is both complex and variable. Grounded theory methodology was employed to gain a greater understanding of the perceptions and conceptualisations of "risk," "need" and "motivation" in relation to prisoner drug abusing…

Moderate physical activity provides substantial health benefits for individuals not only in fitness, athletic, and health organizations, but also for individuals who struggle with addictions and behaviors in correctional programs. The purpose of this pilot study is to examine the relationship between physical activity and offender attitudes. The…

Critical theorists consider schools as sites of ideological struggle. The following is an account of Suzette's (pseudonym) attempts to define the educational practices in a women's prison according to the democratic principles suggested in the Task Force Report on Federally Sentenced Women: Creating Choices, (Correctional Service of Canada, 1990).…

We report select outcomes from an evaluation of Project Wall Talk, a community-based, peer-led HIV prevention education program implemented in 36 Texas State prison units. Peer educators completed questionnaires prior to receipt of a 40-hour intensive training (N = 590) and at 9-month follow-up (N = 257). Students (N = 2506) completed…

Educating young African American males has become an increasing concern for educators and human service professionals over the past 20 years. Disproportionate rates of school failure, drop out, and incarceration all speak to a need to develop interventions, which can account for the structural and ecological factors that impact Black families and…

Approximately 900,000 people with active symptoms of serious mental illness are booked annually into U.S. jails. Of these, about three quarters have a co-occurring substance use disorder. When these people return to the community they have multiple, complex and interrelated treatment needs, which are often exacerbated by release into the…

Objective: To understand to the degree to which a broad variety of victimizations, including child maltreatment, conventional crime, peer, and sexual victimizations, persist for children from 1 year to the next. Design: A national sample of 1467 children aged 2-17 recruited through random digit dialing and assessed via telephone interviews (with…

This Policy Research Brief summarizes longitudinal national statistics on the number and characteristics of persons with mental retardation and related conditions living in state institutions, their movement into and out of those institutions, the costs of state institutions, and the growing numbers of closures of these institutions. Findings are…

In 1989-90, Full Circle Program's Family Consulting Services (FCS) staff provided family reunification services to 50 children and their families in San Francisco and Marin counties. Staff members developed individualized treatment strategies for each family, acting as advocates for the needs of the child. These services included medical and…

This report is the result of an investigation by the New York State Commission on Quality of Care for the Mentally Disabled of the Bernard Fineson Developmental Center's policies and practices concerning sexual incidents among residents. It also raises broader issues about the meaning of consent when sexual activity involves persons with severe or…